ome horror stirred and glided through
within his soul. He did not answer at once.

"Of course, that would be horrible... horrible... God save me! But then
I go only to you alone, only to you! You'd surely have told me? ..."

"Yes, I'd have told you," she uttered meditatively. And at once
rapidly, consciously, as though having weighed the significance of her
words: "Yes, of course, of course, I would have told you! But haven't
you ever heard what sort of a thing is that disease called syphilis?"

"Of course, I've heard... The nose falls through..."

"No, Kolya, not only the nose! The person becomes all diseased: his
bones, sinews, brains grow diseased... Some doctors say such nonsense
as that it's possible to be cured of this disease. Bosh! You'll never
cure yourself! A person rots ten, twenty, thirty years. Every second
paralysis can strike him down, so that the right side of the face, the
right arm, the right leg die--it isn't a human being that's living, but
some sort of a little half. Half-man-half-corpse. The majority of them
go out of their minds. And each understands... every person... each one
so infected understands, that if he eats, drinks, kisses, simply even
breathes--he can't be sure that he won't immediately infect some one of
those around him, the very nearest--sister, wife, son... To all
syphilitics the children are born monsters, abortions, goitrous,
consumptives, idiots. There, Kolya, is what this disease means. And
now," Jennka suddenly straightened up quickly, seized Kolya fast by his
bare shoulders, turned his face to her, so that he was almost blinded
by the flashing of her sorrowful, sombre, extraordinary eyes, "and now,
Kolya, I will tell you that for more than a month I am sick with this
filth. And that's just why I haven't allowed you to kiss me..."

"You're joking! ... You're teasing me on purpose, Jennie!" muttered
Gladishev, wrathful, frightened, and out of his wits.

"Joking? ...Come here!"

She abruptly compelled him to get up on his feet, lit a match and said:

"Now look closely at what I'm going to show you..."

She opened her mouth wide and placed the light so that it would
illumine her larynx. Kolya looked and staggered back.

"Do you see these white spots? This is syphilis, Kolya! Do you
understand?--syphilis in the most fearful, the most serious stage. Now
dress yourself and thank God."

He, silently and without looking around at Jennka, began to dress
hurriedly, missing h